The
name – and the voice – of soprano Suzie LeBlanc will be familiar
to all followers of baroque music. This is on the strength
of her many fine recordings with, amongst others, Stephen
Stubbs, Reinhard Göbel and Sigiswald Kuijken. Here, though,
she sings traditional songs from Acadia, the land of her
birth.

Acadia
was the early name of the French colonial territory in the
north-eastern corner of North America, made up of the modern
Maritime Provinces of Canada, the eastern parts of Quebec
and parts of modern New England. The early European population
of Acadia came chiefly from west-central France, the first
French settlement being established in 1604. The British
held Acadia briefly at the end of the seventeenth century
and then, more permanently, after the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.
Understandably the bulk of the inhabitants were less than
eager to swear loyalty to Britain, as their new masters demanded.
Eventually, beginning in 1755, the British undertook a process
we might nowadays call ethnic cleansing, forcing out as many
as six or seven thousand Acadians in what became known, by
the Acadians, as the Great Upheaval (‘Grand Dérangement’).

Some
of the songs which LeBlanc sings here have the pains and
wanderings of the Great Upheaval as their background. Some
are reflections on the general transience of things. Others
are more light-hearted – playful songs of love and marriage.
LeBlanc, as she explains in the booklet notes, was introduced
to many of the songs by Georges Arsenault, one of the Acadian
musical family that includes Angèle Arsenault, and by the
traditional singer Hélène Myers, now in her eighties. The
Acadian musical tradition naturally has strong French elements;
but it is also clearly marked by the music of its North-American
neighbours of Scottish descent. Some of the Acadians expelled
in the great upheaval found their way to Louisiana and the
musical traditions they took with them were part of the mixture
that produced modern Cajun music.

I
haven’t been able to find the name of an arranger on the
CD, so I am not sure who is responsible for the richly eclectic
approach adopted here. LeBlanc’s early music experience is
reflected in the use of viola da gamba and harpsichord; nineteenth
century Acadian practice is doubtless reflected in the use
of the harmonium on some tracks; fiddles, flutes and pipes
draw on a whole range of musical languages. With the intermittent
use of tabla and shruti box (a hand-pumped drone) Indian
ingredients are also added to the mixture.

The
results are infectious and inviting. The fact that three
separate visitors, each happening to hear this music playing,
immediately asked for details of it, is a good illustration
of its instant appeal! Ten of the tracks are vocal, the rest
instrumental. The emotional range, as I have indicated, is
relatively various. I suppose this is what we are expected
to call ‘world music’ these days but, in truth, it’s the
sort of music that seems to make nonsense of most labels.
It is, with deceptive simplicity, quality music made by very
accomplished musicians with a clear commitment to communication
and a real respect for the tradition(s) out of which they
are working.

If
you only know Suzie LeBlanc singing Monteverdi, Bach or Vivaldi,
this CD will probably come as a surprise – but not, I would
hope, an unpleasant one. In 2004 LeBlanc made an earlier
CD (La Mer jolie) of Acadian songs; I haven’t, sadly,
heard it.

Except,
I dare say, for those familiar with La Mer jolie,
Tout passé will be unexpected. But its quirkiness is attractive
and its honesty, commitment, and evident sense of shared
fondness for the music make it a rewarding listen for those
with reasonably open minds and ears.

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